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When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

I've read plenty on bfing and pumping mostly in the how to direction, but i can't seem to wrap my mind around how to start pumping schedule especially when I start working again and leave my husband holding the bottle . Any suggestions on n staying ahead on a schedule

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

Hi mama, welcome to the forum!

When are you going back to work? And how many hours will you be working? The general rule of thumb is to leave baby with 1 - 1.5 ounces of milk per hour apart. So let's say you are apart from baby for 10 hours, you'll want to leave about 15 oz or so of milk. Then each day you pump for the next day. So while you're on maternity leave, you'll want to aim for that first 15 oz. A lot of moms find they don't get much out of the pump at first (ie, don't get freaked out if you only get 0.5 oz or an ounce), so you might want to start 2 or 3 weeks before you go back. Generally speaking it's best not to pump too much in addition to nursing, because you can develop an oversupply of milk which can be hard to deal with. Usually pumping once a day a mother won't run into oversupply problems and can slowly build up her stash. Most mothers have the most milk in the morning, so pumping after a morning feed is a good way to get the most bang for the buck, but of course if baby is fussy all morning and wanting to be held, and has a nap in the afternoon that's a better time to pump, that's fine too! A lactatating mom's breasts are never empty - so even if you pump right after a feed, you will still get milk; or if you want to wait a little bit - 20 or 30 minutes - then you may get a bit more. Moms also worry about pumping and then baby wanting to nurse right after - again, your breasts are never empty, so even if you've just pumped, if baby wants to nurse at that time, go ahead and nurse.

Once you are at work, you'll want to pump every few hours with a good quality double electric pump. Usually if you are apart from baby 8-10 hours that will be three pumping sessions in the day, but it varies from mother to mother - some need more, some need less. An average pumping time might be 20 minutes, but again that varies from mom to mom. In terms of staying on a schedule when you're at work, I found it helped to think each day at the beginning of the day exactly how I was going to fit in my pumping around my work, and vice versa - as if I was scheduling in meetings.

It's really important that your husband not overfeed baby. A 2 or 3 oz meal, maybe 4, is a normal amount for a breastfed baby to take at one time. So you might want to freeze your milk in 2 or 3 ounce portions, with 1 ounce "toppers" available if baby does not seem satisfied after those 2 or 3 ounces.

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

Ok...so I was home for 3 months with my baby before going back to work. After the baby was about a month old (and my milk was established) I set a goal to pump 5-6 oz a day and put it in the freezer. I went back to work with a nice stash that I maintained. My daughter is almost 16 months and I still have a little over 200 oz in my freezer. She would generally nurse one side while I pumped the other. Once I got my 5-6 oz I would strictly just breastfeed on demand. Also...my husband was really good about not jamming a bottle in her mouth everytime she made a peep. Her daycare providers were a little more giving but I found that I could always replenish what I dipped into on Friday thru Sunday. Friday milk would go straight to the freezer since I was home on weekends and I would pump my 5-6 oz on Saturday and Sunday to keep my body thinking I needed that extra volume. Good luck mama. Your body will adjust and you will do great...

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

homeworkwithheather, sounds like you have great success with the pump! For some moms pumping 5-6 oz extra each day would require 5 or 6 pumping sessions - moms vary a lot in terms of storage capacity. While it may be reassuring to have a lot of milk in the freezer, most of the time it isn't really necessary. Maternity leave is a precious time, for OP, I would suggest limiting pumping to once a day, perhaps twice if you are getting close to going back to work and are short of your first-day needs.

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

Originally Posted by @llli*bfwmomof3

homeworkwithheather, sounds like you have great success with the pump! For some moms pumping 5-6 oz extra each day would require 5 or 6 pumping sessions - moms vary a lot in terms of storage capacity. While it may be reassuring to have a lot of milk in the freezer, most of the time it isn't really necessary. Maternity leave is a precious time, for OP, I would suggest limiting pumping to once a day, perhaps twice if you are getting close to going back to work and are short of your first-day needs.

while I understand that it is a lot of work I can tell you that the stress of not "having enough" milk can cause a lot of strain. The main concern of every mother is supply and not having enough. I have found that using frozen milk or bottled milk has never really been supported a lot in this community. And yes...clearly breast is best and my daughter only nursed from me unless she was in day care...but I am speaking from experience and I went back to work with A LOT less stress due to the fact that I had made it a point to pump and store every day. In the beginning I did not get a ton of milk but I was diligent and my supply increased and I went back to work knowing if I had a day where I fell short that I was covered. I am just giving the OP advice that worked for me.

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

I have pumped a ton for my kids and no matter what I do I could never get more than a few oz. Every mom has different storage capacity and if I tried to build a stash more than 1-2 oz at a time I just wouldn't be able to do it (right now I'm using donor milk anyway so I don't have enough, let alone extra but I also have twins).

Re: When and how should I start pumping for my 16 day old?

Originally Posted by @llli*krystine

I have pumped a ton for my kids and no matter what I do I could never get more than a few oz. Every mom has different storage capacity and if I tried to build a stash more than 1-2 oz at a time I just wouldn't be able to do it (right now I'm using donor milk anyway so I don't have enough, let alone extra but I also have twins).

Yup, me too.

For the OP, the best I could manage was a 25 oz. stash over the course of my 4.5 month long maternity leave. And I had to pump multiple times a day just to get that much! Lots of women just physically can't pump out much more than baby is taking while home full time. So I also suggest just picking one good time of day to pump, and shoot for that goal of meeting day one's needs, with perhaps a small cushion of a few extra ounces.

Apologies for the short responses! I'm usually responding one-handed on my smartphone!